Sejm
Encyclopedia
The Sejm AUD is the lower house
of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish (literally 'Envoy'). It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm (Marszałek Sejmu).
In the Kingdom of Poland "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber
parliament of Poland, comprising the lower house (Chamber of Envoys; ), the upper house
(Senate
; Polish: Senat) and the King
. It was thus a three-estate parliament. Since the Second Polish Republic
(1918–1939) "Sejm" has referred only to the lower house of the parliament; the upper house is called the "Senat"
.
"Sejm" stems from an Old Slavic
word meaning 'gathering'. Its origin were the King's Councils ('wiec
e'), which gained power during the time of Poland's fragmentation (1146–1295). The 1182 Sejm in Leczyca
was the most notable of these councils, in that for the first time in Poland's history it established laws constraining the power of the ruler. It forbade arbitrary sequestration of supplies in the countryside and takeover of bishopric lands after the death of a bishop. However, these early Sejms were not a regular event and were formed only at the King's behest.
After the 1493 Sejm in Piotrków, it became a regularly convening body, to which indirect elections were held every two years. The bicameral system was also established there. The Sejm now comprised two chambers: the 'Senat
' (Senate) of 81 bishop
s and other dignitaries, and the Chamber of Envoys, made up of 54 envoys elected by small Sejms (local assemblies of landed nobility
) in each of the Kingdom's provinces. At the time Poland's nobility, which accounted for around 10% of the state's population (the highest such proportion in Europe at the time) was becoming particularly influential, and with the eventual development of the 'Golden Liberty
', the Sejm's powers increased dramatically.
Over time the number of envoys in the lower chamber grew in number, and power, as they pressured the king for more privileges. The Sejm eventually became even more active in supporting the goals of the privileged classes when the King ordered that the landed nobility and their estates (peasants) be drafted into military service
. After the Union of Lublin
in 1569, the Kingdom of Poland
became, through personal union with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and thus the Sejm was supplemented with new envoys from among the Lithuanian nobility. This 'Commonwealth of Both Nations' ensured that the state of affairs surrounding the 'three estates' system' continued, with the Sejm, Senate and King each being referred to as an 'estate' and supreme deliberating body of the state. In the first few decades of the 16th century the Senate established its precedence over the Sejm, however, from the mid 1500s onwards the Sejm became a very powerful representative body of the Szlachta
or 'middle nobility'. Soon the Sejm began to severely limit the king's powers. Its chambers reserved the final decisions in legislation
, taxation, budget
, and treasury
matters (including military funding), foreign affairs
, and the confirment of nobility. In 1573, in the act of the Warsaw Confederation
, the nobles of the Sejm officially sanctioned, and guaranteed to each other, religious tolerance in Commonwealth territory, ensuring a refuge for those fleeing the ongoing Reformation
and Counter-Reformation
wars in Europe.
Until the end of the 16th century, unanimity
was not required, and the majority-voting process was the most commonly used system for voting. Later, with the rise of the Polish magnate
s and their increasing power, the unanimity
principle was re-introduced with the institution of the nobility's right of 'liberum veto
' (Latin: 'I freely forbid'). Additionally, if the envoys were unable to reach a unanimous decision within six weeks (the time limit of a single session), deliberations were declared void and all previous acts passed by that Sejm were annulled. From the mid-17th century onward, any objection to a Sejm resolution, by either an envoy or a senator, automatically caused the rejection of other, previously approved resolutions. This was because all resolutions passed by a given session of the Sejm formed a whole resolution, and, as such, was published as the annual 'constituent act' of the Sejm, e.g., Anno Domini 1667. In the 16th century, no single person or small group dared to hold up proceedings, but, from the second half of the 17th century, the liberum veto was used to virtually paralyze the Sejm, and brought the Commonwealth to the brink of collapse. The liberum veto was finally abolished with the adoption of Poland's 3rd May Constitution in 1791, a piece of legislation which was passed as 'The Government Act', and for which the Sejm required four years to propagate and adopt. The constitution's acceptance, and the possible long-term consequences it may have had, is arguably the reason for which the powers of Austria-Hungary
, Russia
and Prussia
then decided to partition the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; thus putting an end to over 300 years of Polish parliamentary continuity.
It is estimated that, between 1493 and 1793, sejms were held 240 times, the total debate-time sum of which was 44 years.
, which existed as a Napoleonic client state between 1807 and 1815, the Sejm of Congress Poland was established in the 'Kongresówka', or Congress Poland
of Russia; it was composed of the king (Russian emperor), the upper house (Senate), and the lower house (Chamber of Envoys). In other
Overall, during the period from 1795 until reestablishment of Poland's sovereignty in 1918, little power was actually held by any Polish legislative body and the occupying powers of Russia
, Prussia
(later united Germany
) and Austria-Hungary
propagated legislation for their own respective formerly-Polish territories at a national level.
The Chamber of Envoys, despite its name, consisted not only of 77 envoys (sent by local assemblies) from the hereditary nobility, but also of 51 deputies
, elected by the non-noble population. All deputies were covered by Parliamentary immunity
, with each individual serving for a term of office of six years, with half of the deputies being elected every two years. Candidates for deputy had to be able to read and write
, and have a certain amount of wealth. The legal voting age was 21, except for those citizens serving in the military, the personnel of which were not allowed to vote. Parliamentary sessions were initially convened every two years, and lasted for (at least) 30 days. However, after many clashes between liberal deputies and conservative government officials, sessions were later called only four times (1818, 1820, 1826, and 1830, with the last two sessions being secret).
The Sejm had the right to call for votes on civil
and administrative
legal issues, and, with permission from the king, it could also vote on matters related to the fiscal policy
and the military. It had the right to exercise control over government officials, and to file petition
s. The 64-member Senate on the other hand, was composed of 'voivodes' and 'kasztelans' (both types of provincial governors), Russian 'princes of the blood'
, and nine bishop
s. It acted as the Parliamentary Court, had the right to control 'citizens' books', and had similar legislative
rights as did the Chamber of Deputies.
In the second half of the 19th century, Poles were able to become members of the parliaments of Austria, Prussia and Russia, where they formed Polish Clubs. Deputies of Polish nationality were elected to the Prussian Landtag from 1848, and then to the German Empire
's Reichstag
from 1871. Polish Deputies were members of the Austrian State Council (from 1867), and from 1906 were also elected to the Russian Imperial State Duma (lower chamber) and to the State Council (upper chamber).
During the interwar period
of Poland's independence, the first Legislative Sejm of 1919
, a Constituent Assembly, passed the Small Constitution of 1919
, which introduced a parliamentary-republic
system and proclaimed the principle of the Sejm’s sovereignty. This was then strengthened, in 1921, by the March Constitution
, one of the most democratic European constitutions enacted after the end of World War I. The constitution established a political system which was based on Montesquieu’s doctrine of separation of powers, and which restored the bicameral Sejm consisting of a lower house (to which the name of Sejm was from then on applied exclusively) and an upper house under the name of 'Senate'. In 1919 Roza Pomerantz-Meltzer
, a member of the Zionist
party, became the first woman ever elected to the Sejm.
The legal content of the March Constitution allowed for Sejm supremacy in the system of state institutions at the expense of the executive powers, thus creating a parliamentary republic
out of the Polish state. An attempt to strengthen executive powers in 1926 ( through the 'August Amendment') proved too limited and largely failed in helping avoid legislative grid-lock which had ensued as a result of too-great parliamentary power in a state which had numerus diametrically-opposed political parties sitting in its legislature. In 1935, the parliamentary republic was weakened further when, by way of, Józef Piłsudski's May Coup, the president was forced to sign the April Constitution of 1935
, an act through which the head of state assumed the dominant position in legislating for the state and the Senate increased its power at the expense of the Sejm.
On 2 September 1939, the Sejm held its final pre-war session, during which it declared it declared Poland's readiness to defend itself against invading German forces. On 2 November 1939, the President dissolved the Sejm and the Senate, which were then, according to plan, to resume their activity within two months after the end of the Second World War; this, however, never happened. During wartime the National Council (1939-1945) was established to represent the legislature as part of the Polish Government in Exile
. Whilst meantime, in Nazi-occupied Poland, the Council of National Unity was set up; this body functioned from 1944 to 1945 as the parliament of the Polish Underground State. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, and subsequent rise to power of the Communist-baked Provisional Government of National Unity
, the Second Polish Republic
legally ceased to exist.
had 460 deputies throughout most of its history. At first, this number was declared to represent one deputy per 60,000 citizens (425 were elected in 1952), but, in 1960, as the population grew, the declaration was changed: The constitution then stated that the deputies were representative of the people and could be recalled by the people — but this article was never used, and, instead of the "five-point electoral law
", a non-proportional, "four-point" version was used. Legislation was passed with majority voting.
The Sejm voted on the budget
as well as on the periodic "national plans
" that were a fixture of communist economies. The Sejm deliberated in sessions that were ordered to convene by the State Council.
The Sejm also chose a Prezydium
("presiding body") from among its members; the marshall of which was always a member of the United People's Party
. In its preliminary session, the Sejm also nominate
d the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers of Poland
, and members of the State Council. It also chose many other government officials, including the head of The Supreme Chamber of Control
and members of the State Tribunal and the Constitutional Tribunal
, as well as the Ombudsman
(the last three bodies of which were created in the 1980s).
The Senate of Poland
was abolished by the Polish people's referendum
, in 1946, after which the Sejm became the sole legislative body in Poland.
After the fall of communism
in 1989, the Senate was reinstated as the upper house of a bicameral national assembly
, while the Sejm became the lower house. The Sejm is now composed of 460 deputies elected by proportional representation
every four years.
Between 7 and 19 deputies are elected from each constituency using the d'Hondt method
(with one exception, in 2001, when the Sainte-Laguë method
was used) — their number being proportional to their constituency's population. Additionally, a threshold is used, so that candidates are chosen only from parties that gained at least 5% of the nationwide vote (candidates from ethnic-minority parties are exempt from this threshold).
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish (literally 'Envoy'). It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm (Marszałek Sejmu).
In the Kingdom of Poland "Sejm" referred to the entire three-chamber
Chambers of parliament
Many parliaments or other legislatures consist of two chambers : an elected lower house, and an upper house or Senate which may be appointed or elected by a different mechanism from the lower house. This style of two houses is called bicameral...
parliament of Poland, comprising the lower house (Chamber of Envoys; ), the upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
(Senate
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
; Polish: Senat) and the King
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
. It was thus a three-estate parliament. Since the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
(1918–1939) "Sejm" has referred only to the lower house of the parliament; the upper house is called the "Senat"
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
.
Sejm of the Kingdom of Poland and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Old Slavic
Old Slavic may refer to:*the Old Church Slavonic language*the Proto-Slavic language language...
word meaning 'gathering'. Its origin were the King's Councils ('wiec
WIEC
WIEC-LP is a radio station licensed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The station is currently owned by The Eau Claire Broadcasting Association....
e'), which gained power during the time of Poland's fragmentation (1146–1295). The 1182 Sejm in Leczyca
Leczyca
Łęczyca is a town of 16,594 inhabitants in central Poland. Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship, it is the county seat of the Łęczyca County.- History :...
was the most notable of these councils, in that for the first time in Poland's history it established laws constraining the power of the ruler. It forbade arbitrary sequestration of supplies in the countryside and takeover of bishopric lands after the death of a bishop. However, these early Sejms were not a regular event and were formed only at the King's behest.
After the 1493 Sejm in Piotrków, it became a regularly convening body, to which indirect elections were held every two years. The bicameral system was also established there. The Sejm now comprised two chambers: the 'Senat
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
' (Senate) of 81 bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s and other dignitaries, and the Chamber of Envoys, made up of 54 envoys elected by small Sejms (local assemblies of landed nobility
Sejmik
A sejmik was a regional assembly in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and earlier in the Kingdom of Poland. Sejmiks existed until the end of the Commonwealth in 1795 following the partitions of the Commonwealth...
) in each of the Kingdom's provinces. At the time Poland's nobility, which accounted for around 10% of the state's population (the highest such proportion in Europe at the time) was becoming particularly influential, and with the eventual development of the 'Golden Liberty
Golden Liberty
Golden Liberty , sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth refers to a unique aristocratic political system in the Kingdom of Poland and later, after the Union of Lublin , in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth...
', the Sejm's powers increased dramatically.
Pospolite ruszenie
Pospolite ruszenie , is an anachronistic term describing the mobilisation of armed forces, especially during the period of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The tradition of wartime mobilisation of part of the population existed from before the 13th century to the 19th century...
. After the Union of Lublin
Union of Lublin
The Union of Lublin replaced the personal union of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with a real union and an elective monarchy, since Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, remained childless after three marriages. In addition, the autonomy of Royal Prussia was...
in 1569, the Kingdom of Poland
Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569)
The Kingdom of Poland of the Jagiellons was the Polish state created by the accession of Jogaila , Grand Duke of Lithuania, to the Polish throne in 1386. The Union of Krewo or Krėva Act, united Poland and Lithuania under the rule of a single monarch...
became, through personal union with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and thus the Sejm was supplemented with new envoys from among the Lithuanian nobility. This 'Commonwealth of Both Nations' ensured that the state of affairs surrounding the 'three estates' system' continued, with the Sejm, Senate and King each being referred to as an 'estate' and supreme deliberating body of the state. In the first few decades of the 16th century the Senate established its precedence over the Sejm, however, from the mid 1500s onwards the Sejm became a very powerful representative body of the Szlachta
Szlachta
The szlachta was a legally privileged noble class with origins in the Kingdom of Poland. It gained considerable institutional privileges during the 1333-1370 reign of Casimir the Great. In 1413, following a series of tentative personal unions between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of...
or 'middle nobility'. Soon the Sejm began to severely limit the king's powers. Its chambers reserved the final decisions in legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
, taxation, budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
, and treasury
Treasury
A treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
matters (including military funding), foreign affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
, and the confirment of nobility. In 1573, in the act of the Warsaw Confederation
Warsaw Confederation
The Warsaw Confederation , an important development in the history of Poland and Lithuania that extended religious tolerance to nobility and free persons within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. , is considered the formal beginning of religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and...
, the nobles of the Sejm officially sanctioned, and guaranteed to each other, religious tolerance in Commonwealth territory, ensuring a refuge for those fleeing the ongoing Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
and Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
wars in Europe.
Unanimity
Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. When unanimous, everybody is of the same mind and acting together as one. Though unlike uniformity, it does not constitute absolute agreement. Many groups consider unanimous decisions a sign of agreement, solidarity, and unity...
was not required, and the majority-voting process was the most commonly used system for voting. Later, with the rise of the Polish magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s and their increasing power, the unanimity
Unanimity
Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. When unanimous, everybody is of the same mind and acting together as one. Though unlike uniformity, it does not constitute absolute agreement. Many groups consider unanimous decisions a sign of agreement, solidarity, and unity...
principle was re-introduced with the institution of the nobility's right of 'liberum veto
Liberum veto
The liberum veto was a parliamentary device in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It allowed any member of the Sejm to force an immediate end to the current session and nullify any legislation that had already been passed at the session by shouting Nie pozwalam! .From the mid-16th to the late 18th...
' (Latin: 'I freely forbid'). Additionally, if the envoys were unable to reach a unanimous decision within six weeks (the time limit of a single session), deliberations were declared void and all previous acts passed by that Sejm were annulled. From the mid-17th century onward, any objection to a Sejm resolution, by either an envoy or a senator, automatically caused the rejection of other, previously approved resolutions. This was because all resolutions passed by a given session of the Sejm formed a whole resolution, and, as such, was published as the annual 'constituent act' of the Sejm, e.g., Anno Domini 1667. In the 16th century, no single person or small group dared to hold up proceedings, but, from the second half of the 17th century, the liberum veto was used to virtually paralyze the Sejm, and brought the Commonwealth to the brink of collapse. The liberum veto was finally abolished with the adoption of Poland's 3rd May Constitution in 1791, a piece of legislation which was passed as 'The Government Act', and for which the Sejm required four years to propagate and adopt. The constitution's acceptance, and the possible long-term consequences it may have had, is arguably the reason for which the powers of Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
then decided to partition the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth; thus putting an end to over 300 years of Polish parliamentary continuity.
It is estimated that, between 1493 and 1793, sejms were held 240 times, the total debate-time sum of which was 44 years.
Polish legislatures after the partitions
After the fall of the Duchy of WarsawDuchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
, which existed as a Napoleonic client state between 1807 and 1815, the Sejm of Congress Poland was established in the 'Kongresówka', or Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
of Russia; it was composed of the king (Russian emperor), the upper house (Senate), and the lower house (Chamber of Envoys). In other
Overall, during the period from 1795 until reestablishment of Poland's sovereignty in 1918, little power was actually held by any Polish legislative body and the occupying powers of Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
(later united Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
) and Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
propagated legislation for their own respective formerly-Polish territories at a national level.
Sejm of Congress Poland
Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of deputies is the name given to a legislative body such as the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or can refer to a unicameral legislature.-Description:...
, elected by the non-noble population. All deputies were covered by Parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity
Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which members of the parliament or legislature are granted partial immunity from prosecution. Before prosecuting, it is necessary that the immunity be removed, usually by a superior court of justice or by the parliament itself...
, with each individual serving for a term of office of six years, with half of the deputies being elected every two years. Candidates for deputy had to be able to read and write
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
, and have a certain amount of wealth. The legal voting age was 21, except for those citizens serving in the military, the personnel of which were not allowed to vote. Parliamentary sessions were initially convened every two years, and lasted for (at least) 30 days. However, after many clashes between liberal deputies and conservative government officials, sessions were later called only four times (1818, 1820, 1826, and 1830, with the last two sessions being secret).
The Sejm had the right to call for votes on civil
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
and administrative
Administrative law
Administrative law is the body of law that governs the activities of administrative agencies of government. Government agency action can include rulemaking, adjudication, or the enforcement of a specific regulatory agenda. Administrative law is considered a branch of public law...
legal issues, and, with permission from the king, it could also vote on matters related to the fiscal policy
Fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy....
and the military. It had the right to exercise control over government officials, and to file petition
Petition
A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer....
s. The 64-member Senate on the other hand, was composed of 'voivodes' and 'kasztelans' (both types of provincial governors), Russian 'princes of the blood'
Prince du Sang
A prince of the blood was a person who was legitimately descended in the male line from the monarch of a country. In France, the rank of prince du sang was the highest held at court after the immediate family of the king during the ancien régime and the Bourbon Restoration...
, and nine bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s. It acted as the Parliamentary Court, had the right to control 'citizens' books', and had similar legislative
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
rights as did the Chamber of Deputies.
In Germany and Austria-Hungary
In the Free City of Cracow (1815-1846), a unicameral Assembly of Representatives was established, and in 1827-1845, a unicameral provincial Sejm existed in the Grand Duchy of Poznań; Poles were elected to and represented the majority in both od these legislatures, however, they were largely powerless institutions and exercised only very limited power. After numerous failures in securing legislative sovereignty in the early 19th century many Poles simply gave up trying to attain a degree of independence from their foreign master-states. After this, in the mid to late 19th century, only in autonomous Galicia (1861-1914) was there a unicameral, functioning National Sejm; it is recognised today as having played a major, and overwhelming positive role in the development of Polish national institutions.In the second half of the 19th century, Poles were able to become members of the parliaments of Austria, Prussia and Russia, where they formed Polish Clubs. Deputies of Polish nationality were elected to the Prussian Landtag from 1848, and then to the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
's Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
from 1871. Polish Deputies were members of the Austrian State Council (from 1867), and from 1906 were also elected to the Russian Imperial State Duma (lower chamber) and to the State Council (upper chamber).
Sejm of the Second Polish Republic
After the First World War and re-establishment of Polish independence, the convocation of parliament – under the democratic electoral law of 1918 became an enduring symbol of the new state's wish to demonstrate and establish continuity with the 300 year Polish parliamentary traditions established before the time of the partitions. Maciej Rataj emphatically paid tribute to this with the phrase: “There is Poland there, and so is the Sejm”.During the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
of Poland's independence, the first Legislative Sejm of 1919
Polish legislative election, 1919
The Polish legislative election, 1919 took place on 26 January and were the first election in the Second Polish Republic. The elections, based on universal suffrage and proportional representation, produced a parliament balanced between Right, Left and Center...
, a Constituent Assembly, passed the Small Constitution of 1919
Small Constitution of 1919
The Small Constitution of 1919 was the "Legislative Sejm's ordinance of February 20, 1919, entrusting Józef Piłsudski with the further execution of the office of Chief of State" . The legislation was published as Dz. Pr. P.P...
, which introduced a parliamentary-republic
Parliamentary republic
A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government - meaning a system with no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. There are a number of variations of...
system and proclaimed the principle of the Sejm’s sovereignty. This was then strengthened, in 1921, by the March Constitution
March Constitution of Poland
The Second Polish Republic adopted the March Constitution on 17 March 1921, after ousting the occupation of the German/Prussian forces in the 1918 Greater Poland Uprising, and avoiding conquest by the Soviets in the 1920 Polish-Soviet War. The Constitution, based on the French one, was regarded as...
, one of the most democratic European constitutions enacted after the end of World War I. The constitution established a political system which was based on Montesquieu’s doctrine of separation of powers, and which restored the bicameral Sejm consisting of a lower house (to which the name of Sejm was from then on applied exclusively) and an upper house under the name of 'Senate'. In 1919 Roza Pomerantz-Meltzer
Roza Pomerantz-Meltzer
Róża Pomerantz-Meltzer, also Róża Melcerowa of Lvov, was the first woman elected to the Sejm, the Parliament of Poland. She was elected in 1919 as a member of a Zionist party....
, a member of the Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
party, became the first woman ever elected to the Sejm.
The legal content of the March Constitution allowed for Sejm supremacy in the system of state institutions at the expense of the executive powers, thus creating a parliamentary republic
Parliamentary republic
A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government - meaning a system with no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. There are a number of variations of...
out of the Polish state. An attempt to strengthen executive powers in 1926 ( through the 'August Amendment') proved too limited and largely failed in helping avoid legislative grid-lock which had ensued as a result of too-great parliamentary power in a state which had numerus diametrically-opposed political parties sitting in its legislature. In 1935, the parliamentary republic was weakened further when, by way of, Józef Piłsudski's May Coup, the president was forced to sign the April Constitution of 1935
Polish Constitution of 1935
The April Constitution of Poland was the general law passed by the act of the Polish Sejm on 23 April 1935. It introduced in Poland a presidential system with certain elements of authoritarianism....
, an act through which the head of state assumed the dominant position in legislating for the state and the Senate increased its power at the expense of the Sejm.
On 2 September 1939, the Sejm held its final pre-war session, during which it declared it declared Poland's readiness to defend itself against invading German forces. On 2 November 1939, the President dissolved the Sejm and the Senate, which were then, according to plan, to resume their activity within two months after the end of the Second World War; this, however, never happened. During wartime the National Council (1939-1945) was established to represent the legislature as part of the Polish Government in Exile
Polish government in Exile
The Polish government-in-exile, formally known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in Exile , was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Poland of September 1939, and the subsequent occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, which...
. Whilst meantime, in Nazi-occupied Poland, the Council of National Unity was set up; this body functioned from 1944 to 1945 as the parliament of the Polish Underground State. With the cessation of hostilities in 1945, and subsequent rise to power of the Communist-baked Provisional Government of National Unity
Provisional Government of National Unity
The Provisional Government of National Unity was a government formed by a decree of the State National Council on 28 June 1945. It was created as a coalition government between Polish Communists and the Polish government-in-exile...
, the Second Polish Republic
Second Polish Republic
The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...
legally ceased to exist.
Sejm of the People's Republic of Poland
The Sejm in the People's Republic of PolandPeople's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
had 460 deputies throughout most of its history. At first, this number was declared to represent one deputy per 60,000 citizens (425 were elected in 1952), but, in 1960, as the population grew, the declaration was changed: The constitution then stated that the deputies were representative of the people and could be recalled by the people — but this article was never used, and, instead of the "five-point electoral law
Five-point electoral law
Five-point electoral law, of five-adjectives election is a concept used in Polish political science referring to the elections that are:* universal* direct* equal* proportional* anonymous - References :*...
", a non-proportional, "four-point" version was used. Legislation was passed with majority voting.
The Sejm voted on the budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
as well as on the periodic "national plans
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
" that were a fixture of communist economies. The Sejm deliberated in sessions that were ordered to convene by the State Council.
The Sejm also chose a Prezydium
Presidium
The presidium or praesidium is the name for the heading organ of various legislative and organizational bodies.-Historical usage:...
("presiding body") from among its members; the marshall of which was always a member of the United People's Party
United People's Party (Poland)
The United People's Party was an agrarian political party in the People's Republic of Poland. It was formed on 27 November 1949 from the merger of the communist Stronnictwo Ludowe party with remnants of the independent People's Party of Stanisław Mikołajczyk .ZSL became - as intended from its very...
. In its preliminary session, the Sejm also nominate
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
d the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers of Poland
Council of Ministers of Poland
The Cabinet of Poland consists of the Prime Minister and ministers. Deputy Prime Ministers and presidents of committees specified in statutes may also be appointed to the Cabinet...
, and members of the State Council. It also chose many other government officials, including the head of The Supreme Chamber of Control
The Supreme Chamber of Control of Poland
The Supreme Chamber of Control is the supreme audit institution and also one of the oldest state institutions in Poland, created under the Second Republic on February 7, 1919, barely 3 months after the restoration of Poland's independence. It was created on the initiative of the Head of State,...
and members of the State Tribunal and the Constitutional Tribunal
Constitutional Tribunal of Poland
The Constitutional Tribunal of the Republic of Poland is a judicial body established to resolve disputes on the constitutionality of the activities of state institutions; its main task is to supervise the compliance of statutory law with the Constitution....
, as well as the Ombudsman
Polish Ombudsman
The Polish Ombudsman is an independent central office of the Republic of Poland. The office was first established on January 1, 1988. Its functioning is regulated by the Constitution and an act of Polish parliament from July 15, 1987...
(the last three bodies of which were created in the 1980s).
The Senate of Poland
Senate of Poland
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the 'Sejm'. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years, it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the...
was abolished by the Polish people's referendum
Polish people's referendum, 1946
The People's Referendum of 1946, also known as the "Three Times Yes" referendum, was a referendum held in Poland on 30 June 1946 on the authority of the State National Council...
, in 1946, after which the Sejm became the sole legislative body in Poland.
Sejm of the Republic of Poland
Revolutions of 1989
The Revolutions of 1989 were the revolutions which overthrew the communist regimes in various Central and Eastern European countries.The events began in Poland in 1989, and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and...
in 1989, the Senate was reinstated as the upper house of a bicameral national assembly
National Assembly of Poland
The National Assembly is the name of both chambers of the Polish parliament, the Sejm and the Senate, when sitting in joint session...
, while the Sejm became the lower house. The Sejm is now composed of 460 deputies elected by proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
every four years.
Between 7 and 19 deputies are elected from each constituency using the d'Hondt method
D'Hondt method
The d'Hondt method is a highest averages method for allocating seats in party-list proportional representation. The method described is named after Belgian mathematician Victor D'Hondt who described it in 1878...
(with one exception, in 2001, when the Sainte-Laguë method
Sainte-Laguë method
The Sainte-Laguë method is one way of allocating seats approximately proportional to the number of votes of a party to a party list used in many voting systems. It is named after the French mathematician André Sainte-Laguë. The Sainte-Laguë method is quite similar to the D'Hondt method, but uses...
was used) — their number being proportional to their constituency's population. Additionally, a threshold is used, so that candidates are chosen only from parties that gained at least 5% of the nationwide vote (candidates from ethnic-minority parties are exempt from this threshold).
Standing committees
- Administration and Internal Affairs Committee
- Agriculture and Rural Development Committee
- Committee on Liaison with Poles Abroad
- Constitutional Accountability Committee
- Culture and Media Committee
- Deputies' Ethics Committee
- Economic Committee
- Education, Science and Youth Committee
- Enterprise Development Committee
- Environment Protection, Natural Resources and Forestry Committee
- European Union Affairs Committee
- Family and Women Rights Committee
- Foreign Affairs Committee
- Health Committee
- Infrastructure Committee
- Justice and Human Rights Committee
- Legislative Committee
- Local Self-Government and Regional Policy Committee
- National and Ethnic Minorities Committee
- National Defence Committee
- Physical Education and Sport Committee
- Public Finances Committee
- Rules and Deputies' Affairs Committee
- Social Policy Committee
- Special Services Committee
- State Control Committee
- State Treasury Committee
- Work Committee
Types of Sejm
- Confederated sejmConfederated sejmConfederated sejm was a form of sejm in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. After 1764, sejms were frequently confederated...
(Sejm skonfederowany) - Convocation sejm (Sejm konwokacyjny)
- Coronation sejm (Sejm koronacyjny)
- Election sejm (Sejm elekcyjny)
- National Assembly of the Republic of Poland (Zgromadzenie Narodowe)
- SejmikSejmikA sejmik was a regional assembly in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and earlier in the Kingdom of Poland. Sejmiks existed until the end of the Commonwealth in 1795 following the partitions of the Commonwealth...
- Voivodship sejmik (Sejmik wojewódzki)
Famous Sejms
- Convocation Sejm of 1764Convocation Sejm (1764)The Convocation Sejm of 1764 was a session of the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It took place in Warsaw from 7 May to 23 June, and was a confederated convocation sejm, tasked with preparing a new royal election to fill the throne of the Commonwealth...
(Sejm konwokacyjny) - Contract SejmContract SejmContract Sejm is a term commonly applied to the Polish Parliament elected in the Polish parliamentary elections of 1989. The contract refers to an agreement reached by the Communist Party and the Solidarity movement during the Polish Round Table Agreement. The final agreement was signed on April...
(Sejm Kontraktowy; 1989) - Great SejmGreat SejmThe Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm was a Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that was held in Warsaw, beginning in 1788...
(Sejm Wielki; 1788–1792) - Grodno SejmGrodno SejmGrodno Sejm was the last Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Grodno Sejm, held in fall of 1793 in Grodno, Grand Duchy of Lithuania is infamous because its deputies, bribed or coerced by the Russian Empire, passed the act of Second Partition of Poland...
(Sejm grodzieński; 1791) - Partition SejmPartition SejmThe Partition Sejm was a Sejm lasting from 1773 to 1776 in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, convened by its three neighbours in order to legalize their First Partition of Poland. During its first days in session, that Sejm was the site of Tadeusz Rejtan famous gesture of protest...
(Sejm rozbiorowy; 1773–1776) - Repnin SejmRepnin SejmThe Repnin Sejm was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1767 and 1768 in Warsaw. This session followed the Sejms of 1764 to 1766, where the newly elected King of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski, attempted with some successes to push through reforms to...
(Sejm Repninowski; 1767–1768) - Silent SejmSilent SejmSilent Sejm is the name given to the session of the Sejm of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of 1 February 1717. A civil war in the Commonwealth was used by the Russian Tsar Peter the Great as an opportunity to intervene as a mediator...
(Sejm Niemy; 1717) - Silesian Sejm (Sejm Śląski; 1920–1939)